What big cities are near Birmingham, AL?

No other major metro in our coverage sits within 100 miles of Birmingham; the nearest is Chattanooga.

Is it worth driving out of Birmingham to save sales tax?

Only on large purchases, and only where the seller is origin-sourced. Most states tax by delivery address, so a car or appliance delivered to Birmingham is taxed at the 10% local rate regardless of where you bought it.

Cities near Birmingham, AL

Quick answer

The nearest major metro to Birmingham is Chattanooga, TN, 136 miles northeast — roughly 2 hr 37 min by road. Its combined sales tax rate is 9.25% against 10% in Birmingham.

Within 25 mi

0covered metros

Within 50 mi

0covered metros

Within 100 mi

0covered metros

Within 250 mi

6covered metros

Distance to nearby metros

Great-circle distance from the Birmingham centroid (33.519, -86.801).

Metros near Birmingham, AL with straight-line distance, estimated drive time and combined sales tax rate
Metro	Straight line	Est. drive	Direction	Combined rate
Chattanooga, TN	135.6 mi	2 hr 37 min	northeast	9.25%
Atlanta, GA	143.8 mi	2 hr 47 min	east	8.9%
Nashville, TN	183.0 mi	3 hr 32 min	north	9.25%
Memphis, TN	207.2 mi	4 hr 1 min	northwest	9.75%
Jackson, MS	213.8 mi	4 hr 8 min	west	8%
Knoxville, TN	235.0 mi	4 hr 33 min	northeast	9.25%

Source: Place centroids: USGS/Census public-domain coordinates · rates as published for 2026

How these distances are calculated

Straight-line figures are great-circle distances between incorporated-place centroids using the haversine formula on a 3,958.76-mile mean-radius sphere — exact to within a few metres for this purpose. Drive time is an estimate: road distance is modelled at 1.2× the straight line (the standard North American circuity factor) at 62 mph for trips over 60 miles and 35 mph below that. It is not a routed itinerary and ignores traffic, terrain and tolls.

Birmingham sales tax breakdown Distance and radius calculator